Student – New to the District

Are You a New Student Entering Rapid City Area Schools?

New Student Enrollment

New Students entering Rapid City Schools for the first time must present a certified copy of their birth certificate, immunization records, proof of residence, and social security number. Children entering kindergarten must be five years old on or before September 1, 2024. Kindergarten children are required to have a minimum of 4 doses of OPV/IPV, one of which must be after their fourth birthday; 4 doses of DTaP, one of which must be after their fourth birthday: 2 MMR vaccinations; and 2 varicella vaccinations or a history of chicken pox disease is acceptable with a parent or guardian signature. All kindergarten students and students from outside the U.S. who enroll will have all age-appropriate immunizations completed before the first day of attendance. These children will not be allowed to start school until all required immunizations are complete.

Please see RCAS policy JECF-Immunization Requirements for full details on immunization requirements.

All new American Indian students wishing to receive Title VII Indian Education services need to complete a 506-certification form at the beginning of the school year. For more information, contact Indian Education – 394-4071.

RCAS Student Placement Procedures

New Student Registration

Pre-K (Pre-Kindergarten only)

Preschool registration for the 2024-2025 school year is currently on hold due to unfilled teaching and paraeducator positions at the preschool level.  Our open positions are currently posted for the 2024-2025 school year.  If we are able to fill those positions with qualified candidates, we will open preschool registration for the 2024-2025 school year.

 Note – this does not impact preschool age children that receive special education services.

Kindergarten Readiness

You are your child’s first and most valuable teacher. The first five years of your child’s life are the most important years in his or her development.  In fact, children learn and retain more information before the age of six than over the rest of their lives.  The more early learning experiences your child is exposed to, the more prepared he or she will be to enter kindergarten.

During children’s early years, families and childcare providers can ensure children are prepared for school by helping children develop an array of skills. Check out the documents below for more information.

Kindergarten Readiness Activity Guide

Kindergarten Readiness Parent Guide

Kindergarten Sign-Up

Any child who will be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2024, is eligible for kindergarten.  Starting March 1, 2024, at 7:30 a.m., please complete the Kindergarten Sign-Up by clicking here.  This link will only be available for two weeks, and then you will need to contact the school directly to get your child on the kindergarten list.  You will receive confirmation with steps to complete the registration process which also opens on March 1.

Kindergarten Screening

For kindergarten screening, please bring your child, your child’s certified birth certificate, immunization records, social security card, and proof of your residence to your home attendance area.  After scanning, these documents will be returned to you.  If you have not done so, please complete the on-line registration below.  If you do not have a computer, ask for assistance on the day of the screening.  Parent(s)/Guardian(s) need to attend with their student(s). Please CLICK HERE for kindergarten screening dates and times. 

Kindergarten Registration

To register your child for kindergarten for the 2024-2025 school year, please do the following:

1. Go to the links below and follow the instructions to complete the on-line registration. If you already have Skyward Family Access due to having a currently enrolled student, use your credentials to login into Skyward and add the new student to your family.

2. If you have questions, please call or email your school directly and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.

3. You will be asked by your school to provide your child’s state certified birth certificate (required by South Dakota state law), immunization records, social security card, and proof of residence at a later date to be scanned into your student’s file.

Kindergarten registrations will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. If enrollment at a school exceeds class size maximums, children will be reassigned to the nearest school with available space.

Kindergarten through 12th Grade

Rapid City Area Schools utilizes an online registration process for new students Kindergarten through 12th grade.  This is a continuation of the paperless initiative the district has incorporated over the past several years.

More information, including dates, on kindergarten registration may be found above under Kindergarten Registration.

New student registration for grades 1-12 will begin on April 1, 2024.

Returning RCAS student registration will begin on May 1, 2024. Please see Student-Returning to District under the Parents tab.

Begin by filling out the New Student Registration Account Request

(If you need assistance with the account request process, please refer to this Guide)

It is recommended that you select “I don’t have an email” to receive your credentials in a pop-up window to continue the registration process.  (Once you are logged in with your credentials, you may add your email in the appropriate locations.)  Otherwise, if you enter an email address in the account request, you will receive your credentials via email, which may delay your registration process.

Login with your newly acquired credentials and proceed to register your student.

(If you need assistance with the registration process, please refer to this Guide)

**Note:  You will be required to provide the following documents to the school to finish the registration process:  Birth Certificate (required by South Dakota State Law), Immunization Record, Social Security Card, and Proof of Residency.  Middle School students course requests are also completed at the school. 

**Note:  South Dakota requires all 6th grade students to get one dose of Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap) and one dose of Meningococcal (MCV4) vaccine on or after the 11th birthday.

**Note High School parents/guardians: Once the High School receives your student’s records, the Registrar’s Office at your school will contact you  to schedule an appointment to complete the registration process.  If you have any questions regarding your student’s registration, please contact your school.

 Central High School – 605-394-4063

 Stevens High School – 605-394-4025

Rapid City Alternative Academy – 605-394-4028 – Students are referred to RCAA through their home attendance center.

Busing

K-8th grade students residing more than 2.5 miles from their assigned school or in a designated area are eligible for bus service.  Please complete a Request for Student Busing Form to ride the bus.

Now that I’ve Registered my Child, how do I Track my Child’s Progress?

Please reference the Parent Resource page to get access to online accounts for Skyward Family Access (attendance, grades, assignments, food service balances/purchases), eFunds (electronically add money to your child’s food service account), eHealth (Breakfast/Lunch Menus), and RapidRide information.